Pick Me Up
by Maven Cree
Summary: Luke and Holden catch up while waiting for Reid and clear up a few misconceptions.


**Title:** Pick Me Up

**Author:** MavenCree  
><strong>Rating:<strong> from PG

**Word Count:** 2580  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> suggestive language  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Luke and Holden catch up.

**A/N:** Special uber thanks to aljc100 for beta'ing this. I don't often use beta's (I'm too stuborn) but I really, really needed one for this story, so thank you so very much!

This is a scene that's been in my head for a while so I finally decided to write it down. I'll warn you right now, it's a floating POV. I've tried to keep it clear though. Hope you enjoy!

Luke Snyder closed his eyes as he slowly inhaled the steam from his afternoon coffee. Being naturally energetic, he usually didn't require the afternoon caffeine shot, but he hadn't been getting as much sleep as he should have for the last few weeks.

Unexpectedly, a heavy hand landed on his head and began ruffling his finely tuned hair. The touch was unexpected, but not unwelcome because there was only one person who did that to him anymore. He looked up and smiled.

"Hi dad."

Holden grinned back and took a seat across from his son in the crowed café, placing his to-go Java cup on the table between them.

"So you _do_ remember who I am. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten. It's been so long since I've heard from you."

Luke dipped his head contritely.

"Sorry, dad. I've been busy."

"I can see that. You look run down."

Luke shrugged and winced slightly. It did not go unnoticed by his father. Nor did the large, unfriendly bruise peaking out from the neckline of his henley shirt.

"Something you wanna tell me son?"

The blond knitted his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"How are things between you and Reid?"

"Fine. Amazing actually." Luke got a far off look on his face and his eyes took on a starry quality. Holden wasn't backing down though.

"Luke," he said gently but firmly, repeating himself to regain his son's attnetion. Luke blinked, his focus falling back to his father. Holden continued. "You want to explain that nasty-looking bruise creeping out of your shirt, right there?"

Luke's eyes widened and he slapped his right shoulder with his hand. "Crap, has it gone that high?" He twisted awkwardly and tried to look under his own collar.

"_Luke."_

"Huh?"

"How did you get that bruise?"

"Oh." A blush began to crawl up Luke's face from his neck and when he spoke, his voice was spoke higher than usual. "I—uh… fell."

"You fell."

"Yeah."

"On your neck?"

"…Well, more on my back-shoulder area, but…"

Holden sighed heavily and began rubbing his eyes.

"Dad… come on. You don't really believe…"

"What? You move in with Reid and suddenly no one hears from you for a month. Then, the first time I see you, you look completely worn out, not to mention the fact that you've got circles under your eyes and a bruise on your back!"

"Dad, I know what you're thinking…"

"What I'm _thinking_ is that I need to get my shot gun and have a little talk with Dr. Oliver."

"Dad!" Luke leaned in close and lowered his voice, but spoke with conviction. "Reid is _NOT_ abusing me. I _swear_ it. He's not. This was an accident."

"If it was just an accident, then you won't mind telling me what happened. 'Cause you know I'm not buying that 'I fell' line."

Luke began to blush again. "It's… It's just a little embarrassing."

Holden raised his eyebrows. Embarrassing or not, he expected his son to continue.

Nervously, Luke began to trace the rim of his cup with his fingers.

"Um… Okay. So, yeah, I moved in with Reid when Katie moved out of the apartment."

"I knew that part."

"Right. Well, since I moved in… Reid and I have been in what you might call… something of a… honeymoon phase…?" He winced with embarrassment this time. His blush deepened when, after a few moments, he saw the realization dawn on his father's face. Thankfully, some of Holden's anger seemed to be draining away, along with it.

"Ah," Holden said, after a long pause, himself now somewhat torn between amusement and embarressment.

"Yeah. So… that's why I haven't been around much lately… and probably why I look a little tired."

"Still doesn't explain the bruise though."

"Actually, it does." Luke cleared his throat and checked his watch. "I'm actually waiting here for Reid to get off work."

He looked steadfastly at the table or the floor – anywhere but his father's face – before continuing.

"After… Um, well… You see, because of last night… um…"

"_Luke."_

Luke sighed. He screwed up his courage and looked his father in the eye. "I'm meeting Reid here to go bed shopping. We need a new bed."

Holden stared, unblinking at his son for several long moments. When he finally understood what it was that Luke was trying to say, Holden's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. "OH!" He exlaimed. "So… you fell, when…"

"Yeah."

"And you ended up…?"

"On the floor."

"…I see."

"Thank god." Luke wearily rested his head in his hand. He'd been worried that his father would want further details.

"But… If the bed broke… wouldn't you just have fallen straight down?"

Luke's weariness turned to mortification. He now covered his face with _both_ hands.

"Dad… _please_ tell me you're really not going to make me talk about… positions?"

When there was no reply, Luke peeked through his fingers, only to see Holden trying – and failing – to hide his amusement, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"I'm glad I amuse you." Luke said.

"Sorry," Holden chuckled. "It's just, going from what I was thinking to what actually happened… I'm going from one extreme to the another here."

"So, no more shot gun?"

"No more shot gun."

"Good. 'Cause I'm kinda fond of that guy."

Holden smiled. "Fond?"

"Fond," Luke nodded. "Fond, as in crazy stupid in love with him."

"Well, you are kind of 'glowy'."

"God, please don't say that in front of Reid. He'd never let me live it down."

Holden smiled. "Seriously though - Furniture malfunctions aside, things are good between the two of you?"

And there was that look on Luke's face again – like he had drifted off to some far away place.

"Yeah. I mean, it's still a little weird for me sometimes but…"

"Weird?"

Luke met his father's eyes. "He loves me dad. He really, truly, completely loves me. When he looks at me, It's like I'm the most important person in the world to him. Like I'm the _only_ person in the world. I've never felt so… cherished. I never have to question it. I never have to doubt it. I never have to worry about it or worry that he'll take it away from me or use it against me. It's weird that I'm having to get used to that. To just being in love and not having to fight for it all of the time. It's just… easy."

Holden smiled, extremely pleased. "It should be easy, Luke. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"No doubt, some of those… expectations you had about love, came from watching your mother and me all of these years."

Luke ducked his head. "A little," he said quietly. "I mean I know you two love each other, even when you're not together. I guess I thought it had to be like that for me too. And it was - with Noah."

Holden rubbed his hands together and folded them in front of him on the table.

"You know, we never really talked about that – about how Noah treated you."

"It's water under the bridge dad," Luke said, waving his hand, dismissively.

"I know, I just… Well, I just wish I'd listened to my own instincts a little more. You always seemed to be walking on egg shells around Noah, and it didn't sit right with me. But I didn't say anything because – well, you always said how much you loved him. I'd find myself hoping, every time you broke up, that that would be the end of it. That you'd move on and become the confident young man I'd raised." Holden grinned. "It's good to see him back again. It's good to see you so happy."

Luke returned the grin and the two Snyders sat for a moment, enjoying their coffee and company in silence.

Suddenly, a third chair was smacked down at the table in between Luke and Holden, making them look up. The faraway look on Luke's face was immediately replaced by a blinding sunshine smile."

"Mr. Snyder," Reid said by way of greeting, holding out his hand for Holden to shake.

"Doctor Oliver, good to see you. Though I think it's about time you started calling me Holden."

"Call me Reid, then," the Doctor replied with a nod, before sitting down. "If you'll excuse me a moment Holden…"

Reid then turned, placed both hands on either side of Luke's face and gave him one hard, sound kiss. When he pulled back, Holden could have sworn that Luke's eyes were spinning in his head.

"Hi."

"Hi," Luke breathed.

Reid made to wrap his arm around Luke's shoulder but froze suddenly, a frown forming on his face. He moved Luke's collar aside to peek at his back.

"Does it hurt?"

Luke shook his head. "No, it's just a little stiff. I can't even feel it there," he said, indicating where Reid's finger was currently brushing, just below the neckline.

Holden was pleased to see such concern on the face of the supposedly heartless doctor.

"I'm alright." Luke said softly to Reid.

"I have something in my bag that will help with that."

"Really, Reid it's okay."

"And when exactly did you get your doctorate, Mr Snyder?"

Luke rolled his eyes, but smiled again. The barista came over and placed Reid's order in front of him.

"Um, weren't we supposed to be going somewhere?" Luke asked, eyeing the two sandwiches and the donut Reid had already begun digging into.

"You wanna time me again?" Reid said, his mouth full.

"God, no. Just try not to choke, okay? I only just managed to convince Dad not to go after you with a shotgun, so I'd like to keep you around for a bit."

"Do I want to know?" Reid said, eyeing Holden, cautiously.

"I might have… jumped to the wrong conclusion about Luke's bruise – about where it might have come from - that's all." Holden said.

"And you told him?" Reid asked Luke, his eyebrow raised in surprise. Luke was never one for discussing their sex life with anyone else, and most definitely not with his parents.

"I told him where we were going today," he replied, a blush reappearing on his face anyway.

"Oh! Speaking of that! I found the bed that I want. It's huge. Sleeps like five people!"

"Why would we want a bed that sleeps five people?" Luke asked, half afraid of the answer.

Reid took a bite of his donut. "For when Little Hughes stops pretending and comes over to the dark side."

"Reeeeid!"

"Little Hughes?" Holden asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Casey," Luke and Reid replied in unison.

"Reid is of the opinion that Casey is secretly in the closet," Luke explained.

"No man pays _that_ much attention to his own body without being at least a _little _bit curious."

"And this would affect you how?" Holden asked, a little perplexed by the topic of conversation, but amused none the less by the easy banter between Luke and his boyfriend.

Luke quickly grabbed Reid and slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Uh, Reid has a bit of a crush on Casey," he giggled.

Reid glared at him, and Luke grinned, before placing a soft kiss on the back of his hand, which was still covering Reid's mouth. The expression in Reid's eyes softened a little in response at the gesture. Luke removed his hand.

"I don't do crushes," Reid stated. "I am not a 12-year-old girl. I'm merely able to appreciate a finely sculpted form when I see it." He stood up, popping the last piece of donut into his mouth. "I'm getting a coffee."

Luke smiled at Reid as the doctor sauntered over to the counter. When Luke turned back to his father, he saw that Holden had a pensive look on his face.

"Something wrong, dad?"

"That doesn't bother you?" Holden replied, sounding suddenly unsure.

Luke looked down at Reid's now empty plate.

"How he eats? I'm used to it, I guess. Still a bit in awe, but-"

"No. I mean about him and Casey."

Luke furrowed his brow, and then it dawned on him what Holden was getting at.

"No. Absolutely not. Not in the slightest," he replied without hesitation.

Holden looked skeptical and Luke continued.

"When I was with Noah, it _definitely_ would have bothered me. But with Reid… where we are now, I know he can look at or admire any man who crosses his path, but he'd still never want any of them as much as he wants me."

There was a new confidence shining from his son that Holden had never seen before. He smiled back.

"Okay then."

He stood up just as Reid approached the table.

"I should get going."

"Us too, actually," Luke said starting to gather up his things.

Holden came around the table and gave Luke a strong hug.

"Honeymooning aside, don't be a stranger," he said quietly, so only Luke could hear.

"I won't. I promise."

"In fact," Holden continued in a louder voice, as he shook Reid's hand. Why don't the two of you come over for dinner this Sunday? Mama's been talking for days about how much food Reid here can put away, and you know how much she enjoys feeding her boys."

"We're in," Reid said without hesitation.

"Sunday, then." Holden replied with a nod, and started to head for the door. "Oh, and Reid," he added, turning back after only a few steps. "_Try_ to be a little more careful with my son…"

Luke slapped his hand over Reid's mouth again before he could respond.

Damn, Reid thought to himself. He's getting a little _too_ good at doing that.

"We will be, dad." Luke said. "See you Sunday."

Reid rolled his eyes, before giving Holden a mock salute. Luke dropped his hand as Holden left Java. Reid thought that young Mr Snyder was indeed looking a little too pleased with himself. He placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, looking his boyfriend dead in the eye.

"_In_ my mouth, Luke. I like your fingers _in_ my mouth, not over it," he explained in false seriousness.

"Reid!"

Luke blushed and looked around to see if anyone had overheard him, but Reid just laughed and grabbed him around the waist, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"Come on. Let's go buy a bed and break it in," he said, taking hold of Luke's hand as they walked out of Java into the sunshine.

"You know, Reid – I don't think they'll be able to deliver the bed today. It's already after three."

"They will with the generous tip you give them."

"Well, you've always been impressed with my tip."

Reid stuttered to a sudden stop, his eyes widening in surprise. Luke turned to face him trying desperately to keep from laughing.

Reid grabbed the back of Luke's head and pulled him in for a crushing kiss. Both men were panting when they finally pulled away from each other.

"I love you," Luke said.

Reid threw an arm around his shoulder, being extra careful of Luke's bruise, and they carried on walking.

"I love you too," he said, "but if you say something like that again, we're going to get arrested for lewdness, public indecency, public nudity, disturbing the peace, sound ordinance…."

The rest of Reid's list of infractions were drowned out by Luke's heartfelt laughter, ringing through Old Towne Square.

End


End file.
